Denis McCarthy, who
runs the Kells-based Frog Farm, which is Europe’s sole exporter
of common frogs for medical research, had originally told the group he
would retire at the end of this month, in order to forestall further attacks.

McCarthy contacted
the Sunday Times yesterday and stated that he was closing the business
“with immediate effect” and said he had passed this information
on to the ALF via an intermediary.

The ALF said McCarthy
had given them an undertaking not to sell the business on, following the
attack on Halloween night. The group said that if McCarthy did not follow
through on his promise to retire, he would remain a target for further
attacks.

“Until he ceases
trading and all his equipment is given to animal welfarists for rescue
use, he will remain a legitimate target,” the group said.

McCarthy, 65, whose
frog farm has been in business since 1954, said yesterday that he had
been planning to retire in April anyway but had brought it forward. “If
that’s what they want, I don’t mind,” he said. “The
less PR on it, the better for me.”

McCarthy said there
was no business left anyway as European colleges no longer use frogs for
vivisection. “The business is finished,” he said. “The
advice that I got is to bring forward my retirement.”

The businessman wouldn’t
say who had given him this advice. “It’s a very sensitive
and difficult problem,” he said.

Gardai in Kells said
that McCarthy did not make a complaint to them following the Halloween
incident.

Bernie Wright of the
Alliance for Animal Rights (AAR), which was not involved in the attack
but has been active in pressurising McCarthy to get out of business, said
that an intermediary who was liaising between the ALF and McCarthy had
informed her of his decision to shut down.

“The AAR supports
the action taken against Denis McCarthy but we were not involved in the
attack on his frog farm. We don’t believe it is violence, it is
property damage,” said Wright.

Robin Webb, a UK-based
spokesperson for the ALF, said: “The frogs that are exported are
used for medical research and vivisection. All individuals of any species
can feel stress and pain. Frogs are no different.”

McCarthy’s frogs
were used in a joint experiment by King’s College, London, and the
University of Lund in Sweden as part of a study on the central nervous
system.